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Phyllida Barlow

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Phyllida Barlow
Born4 April 1944
NationalityBritish
EducationChelsea College of Art, Slade School of Fine Art, University College, London
Known forSculpture

Phyllida Barlow, CBE (born 4 April 1944, Newcastle upon Tyne, England) is a British artist who primarily creates sculptures and large installation pieces and great-great-great-granddaughter of Charles Darwin.[1] Barlow was also a professor of art for more than forty years and is a Professor Emerita at the Slade School of Fine Art, University College, London, where she taught artists such as Tacita Dean, Rachel Whiteread and Douglas Gordon.[2] In 2011, Barlow became a Royal Academician Elect.[3] She currently lives and works in London.[1]

Installation view, 'Phyllida Barlow. RIG', Hauser & Wirth, London, England, 2011. Image courtesy of Hauser and Wirth

Early life and education

Phyllida Barlow was born on 4 April 1944[4] in Newcastle upon Tyne, England.[1] Her mother, Brigit (or Biddy), was an author and her father, Erasmus Darwin Barlow, was a doctor and later a private businessman, who was also a great-grandson of the famed scientist Charles Darwin.[5] She has a sister named Camilla and a brother named Jeremy.[5]

Barlow studied at the Chelsea College of Art from 1960-1963.[6] She has mentioned that it was her professor George Fullard who first opened her eyes to using non-traditional materials in sculpture.[7] At Chelsea College she also met her husband, the writer and artist Fabian Peake.[2] Barlow later attended the Slade School of Fine Art from 1963-1966 to further study sculpture.[6] Barlow and her husband have five children together.[2] Her son Eddie Peake is also a contemporary artist.[8]

Work

File:Phyllida Barlow Duveen.jpg
Installation view, 'Phyllida Barlow. dock', Duveen Commission, Tate Britain, London, England, 2014. Image courtesy of Hauser and Wirth

"Things aren't just visual. They are sensations of physicality". – Phyllida Barlow in Modern Painters, Summer 2011

Barlow creates what she calls "anti-monumental" sculptures, large-scale works that are undermined as monuments by her use of inexpensive, low-grade materials like cardboard, fabric, plywood, polystyrene, scrim and cement.[9] Barlow's sculptural practice is centred on her experimentation with these materials and the process of re-contextualising them to create large-scale, three-dimensional collages.[10] Her constructions are often crudely painted in industrial or synthetic colours, resulting in abstract, seemingly unstable forms: the seams of their construction are simultaneously revealed and concealed. Often appearing unstable and ephemeral, Barlow’s work constantly reinvestigates the possibilities of form, mass and volume.

Drawing also plays an important role in Barlow’s practice. Her works on paper echo the rough surfaces of her sculpture and play with matter and space. The drawings are made independently of the sculptural works and are not preparatory sketches but works in their own right.

From 2003-2004, she participated in the CentralTrak Artist Residency in Dallas, Texas.[11] In 2009, she stopped teaching in order to focus on her own work.[12] Since 2010, Barlow has been represented by Hauser & Wirth, London.

She was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2016 New Year Honours for services to art.[13]

Selected Solo Exhibitions

2017

  • 57th Biennale di Venezia, British Pavilion, Venice, Italy

2016

  • Kunsthalle Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

2015

2014

  • Tate Britain, ‘Duveen Commission: Phyllida Barlow. dock’, London, England
  • Hauser & Wirth Somerset, ‘GIG’, Somerset, England

2013

  • Des Moines Art Center, ‘scree’, Des Moines IA
  • Norton Museum of Art, ‘HOARD’, West Palm Beach FL

2012

  • New Museum, ‘siege’, New York NY
  • Henry Moore Institute, ‘Phyllida Barlow: Bad Copies’, Leeds, England
  • Ludwig Forum für Internationale Kunst, ‘BRINK’, Aachen, Germany

2011

  • Hauser & Wirth, ‘RIG’, London, England
  • Kunstverein Nürnberg, ‘Cast’, Nuremberg, Germany

2010

  • Studio Voltaire, ‘BLUFF’, London, England
  • BAWAG Contemporary, ‘STREET’, Vienna, Austria

2008

Selected Group Exhibitions

2016

  • Hepworth Wakefield, ‘The Hepworth Prize for Sculpture’, Wakefield, England
  • Hauser Wirth & Schimmel, ‘Revolution in the Making: Abstract Sculpture by Women’, 1947 – 2016’, Los Angeles CA
  • Arter, ‘Not All That Falls Has Wings’, Istanbul, Turkey

2013

  • Carnegie Museum of Art, ‘Carnegie International’, Pittsburgh PA
  • 55th International Art Exhibition – Venice Biennale, ‘The Encyclopedic Palace’, Venice, Italy

2012

  • Mystetskyi Arsenal, ‘First International Biennale of Contemporary Art: The Best of Times, The Worst of Times. Rebirth and Apocalypse in Contemporary Art’, Kiev, Ukraine

2011

  • Haus der Kunst, ‘Sculptural Acts’, Munich, Germany
  • Museum Ludwig, ‘Before the Law’, Cologne, Germany

2010

Recognition

In 2011, Barlow became a Royal Academician Elect.[3]

In May 2012, Barlow was awarded the Aachen Art Prize for her contribution to the international art scene.[14] The award was accompanied with a solo exhibition of her work at Ludwig Forum, Aachen, Germany.[14]

Further Reading

  • Barlow, Phyllida (26 July 2016). Phyllida Barlow: Mix. Verlag Für Moderne Kunst. ISBN 978-3-903004-70-2.
  • Phyllida Barlow: Sculpture 1963 - 2015. Hatje Cantz Pub. 24 November 2015. ISBN 978-3-7757-4011-1.
  • Obrist, Hans Ulrich; Barlow, Phyllida (31 August 2014). Phyllida Barlow: Fifty Years of Drawings. Sara Harrison (ed.). JRP|Ringier. ISBN 978-3-03764-366-2.
  • Barlow, Phyllida; Cunha, Alexandre da (30 November 2014). Phyllida Barlow: Scree. Gilbert Vicario (ed.). Des Moines, IA: Des Moines Art Center. ISBN 978-1-879003-67-5.
  • Barlow, Phyllida (31 October 2013). Phyllida Barlow: Brink. Brigitte Franzen (ed.) (Bilingual edition ed.). Walther König, Köln. ISBN 978-3-86335-272-1. {{cite book}}: |edition= has extra text (help)
  • Raikes, Sophie; Feuvre, Lisa Le (1 April 2012). Bad Copies: The Drawings of Phyllida Barlow. Leeds: Henry Moore Institute. ISBN 978-1-905462-38-4.
  • Barlow, Phyllida (31 October 2012). Phyllida Barlow: Siege. Gary Carrion-Murayari (ed.). New Museum. ISBN 978-0-9854485-1-6.
  • Baghramian, Nairy; Barlow, Phyllida; Peyton-Jones, Julia; Obrist, Hans-Ulrich (2010). Nairy Baghramian and Phyllida Barlow. Köln; London: Walther König. ISBN 978-3-86560-839-0.
  • Simpson, Ronnie (1 December 2008). Phyllida Barlow: STINT. Mead Gallery, Warwick Arts Centre. ISBN 978-0-902683-89-1.
  • Godfrey, Mark; Wood, John (1 February 2005). Objects for...and Other Things Phyllida Barlow. Londen: Black Dog Publishing Limited London. ISBN 978-1-901033-59-5.

References

  1. ^ a b c "Phyllida Barlow: biography" Retrieved 31 March 2014.
  2. ^ a b c Cochrane, Kira "Phyllida Barlow: just going to art school doesn't make you famous" The Guardian, Retrieved 31 March 2014.
  3. ^ a b "Full list of Academicians", Royal Academy, Retrieved 22 May 2014.
  4. ^ "Phyllida Barlow, RA Elect" Retrieved 31 March 2014.
  5. ^ a b "Darwin's great-grandson dies aged 90" Cambridge News, Retrieved 31 March 2014.
  6. ^ a b Godfrey, Mark. "Phyllida Barlow" Frieze Magazine, Retrieved 31 March 2014.
  7. ^ Lack, Jessica. "Artist of the Week: Phyllida Barlow" The Guardian, Retrieved 31 March 2014.
  8. ^ Spence, Rachel. "Phyllida Barlow, Tate Britain" The Financial Times, Retrieved 10 April 2014.
  9. ^ "Phyllida Barlow: Bio" Retrieved 31 March 2014.
  10. ^ "Tate Britain Commission 2014: Phyllida Barlow", Tate Britain, Retrieved 22 May 2014.
  11. ^ "Sculptress Phyllida Barlow to Exhibit Work at U.T. Dallas", University of Texas at Dallas, Retrieved 22 May 2014.
  12. ^ "DISPLAYS: Phyllida Barlow", Contemporary Art Society, Retrieved 22 May 2014.
  13. ^ "No. 61450". The London Gazette (invalid |supp= (help)). 30 December 2015.
  14. ^ a b "Aachen Art Prize for 2012 awarded to Phyllida Barlow" e-flux, Retrieved 31 March 2014.